Heart "Alone"

By the time "Alone" was released, Heart was an established, female-led, rock-n-roll powerhouse.

However, "Alone" unleashed Ann Wilson's vocal prowess on radio airwaves in a way few singers had done before, establishing her as one of the genre's greatest female vocalists -- and arguably the best.

A song in one of the dreariest of keys (B-flat minor) about longing for a lover, Wilson's performance embodies the anguish that can come from physical distance between someone and their would-be partner.

The pinnacles of the song are Wilson's F#5 wail during the bridge and the often-imitated (well, attempted, anyway) C5-D5 sliding exclamation "'Til now" during each chorus. The former was described by one of my friends, a classically-trained singer, as "The Bitch Note." 

Location: Michigan, USA

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